Two Charged With Animal Cruelty After Horses Found In 'Deplorable State'

Courtesy of Stamford Police

Eileen Lenihan and Jose Dejesus Rodriquez both were charged with cruelty to animals.

Eileen Lenihan and Jose Dejesus Rodriquez both were charged with cruelty to animals. (Courtesy of Stamford Police)

Two charged with animal cruelty in Stamford after horses they owned found in “deplorable” conditio

STAMFORD - Two people were charged with animal cruelty after six horses they owned were found in a "deplorable state," according to police.

Police said they received a call from the New England Equine center that a three-year old Appaloosa named Muppet had arrived at their facility from Rock Springs Farms "very dehydrated and malnourished."

Officers went to the farm on Old Long Ridge Road and found a barn where five other horses were being housed in "a deplorable state," including holes in the walls, exposed wires, stalls with "a large amount of manure left for the animals to lie on" and very little food left out for the animals and all their drinking water frozen over.

Police said they found one horse, a four-year old Appaloosa named Lacey, "positioned on the ground and gasping for air." Both Muppet and Lacey what open sores, mated hair and were so emaciated that their bones were exposed, according to police. A veterinarian determined that both horses needed to be euthanized.

The owner of the barn, Eileen Lenihan, 57, told police that she owned several of the horses but that she believed that Jose Dejesus Rodriquez, 37, who also owned several of the horses, was responsible for caring for them.

Arrest and booking photos are provided by law enforcement officials. Arrest does not imply guilt, and criminal charges are merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and convicted.

Rodriquez told police that he believed the horses had been poisoned and that he had told Lenihan that the day before. Police said that neither Lenihan nor Rodriquez were able to provide a "reasonable explanation" of why the stable was in such condition or why there was no food or water for the horses.

Both were charged with cruelty to animals and released after posting $10,000 bail.

Police said the other four horses were treated by a veterinarian and placed in an equine rescue center.